Apparatus for stripping and feeding web material from a supply roll or cartridge

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for stripping and feeding strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end comprising: a stripping member having a first surface engageable with the strip material on the roll during rotation thereof to separate the leading end of the strip material from the roll and having a second surface adapted to direct the lead end of the strip material away from the roll; a drive member engageable with and adapted to drive the roll so that the leading end of the material is moved towards the stripping member; and a guide member connected to the drive member, wherein the guide member and the second surface of the stripping member cooperates to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding the leading end of the strip material away from the roll during rotation of the roll by the drive member.

I United States Patent [i 3,666,205 Cherniavskyj et al. May 30, 1972 [54] APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING AND 3,550,880 12/1970 Palmer ..242/19s x FEEDING WEB MATERIAL FROM A 3,550,881 l2/l970 Roman ...352/l57 X PPLY OLL R CARTRIDGE 3,552,683 l/l97l Bundschuh et a]. ..........242/l92 SU R 0 3,558,028 l/197l Bunting 242/192 X [72] Inventors: Jaroslav Cherniavskyj, Skokie; Edward R.

Prelletz, Chicago; Roland R. Rucinsld, Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath ill P r all of Assistant Examiner-Wemer H. Schroeder [73] Assignee: Bell 8: Howell Company, Chicago, Ill. AtmmeyHume Clemem Hume &

[22] Filed: Jan. 26, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [2 l] Appl. No.: 5,665 An apparatus for stripping and feeding strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end comprising: a stripping member having a first surface engageaif 3 'g f' ble with the strip material on the roll during rotation thereof to l l n separate the leading end of the strip material from the roll and [58] FleldofSeu-ch ..242/l92, 195,201,209; h d ff ad d h l d d f h 226/89 9] 352/157 58 avmg a secon su ace apte to irect t e ea en 0 t e strip material away from the roll; a dnve member engageable with and adapted to drive the roll so that the leading end of the [56] References Cited material is moved towards the stripping member; and a guide UNITED STATES PATENTS member connected to the drive member, wherein the guide member and the second surface of the stripping member 3,542.310 ll/l970 Kezmckl ..242/l92 cooperates to form a narrow passageway therebetween for 3.429518 2/1959 McKee 226/91 X guiding the leading end of the strip material away from the roll 3536-276 10/ l 970 Bundschuh al 242/92 during rotation of the roll by the drive member. 3,544,040 l2/l970 Bundschuh ..242/206 3,550,879 l2/l970 Bundschuh et al ..242/20l X 48 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING AND FEEDING WEB MATERIAL FROM A SUPPLY ROLL OR CARTRIDGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a strip material or web handling apparatus and particularly, to an automatic means for removal of the lead end of a strip of material or a web from a supply roll on which the strip of material or web is coiled and presenting the end thereof to a threading mechanism of a device, such as a motion picture projector.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the web handling apparatus is a motion picture projection machine and the web is a motion picture film. The film may either be coiled on a conventional roll or reel or may be enclosed in a cassette or cartridge.

In the web handling art, considerable attention has been given to the devices for initially removing the lead end of a web from a supply roll and guiding the lead portion of the web into a guide mechanism. In a motion picture projector, such an apparatus serves to initially remove the film from the supply roll and thereafter, guide the lead end of the film into a utilization channel which eventually leads to a shuttle gate or threading mechanism.

In the field of web handling, it has lately been the general practice to employ automatic strippers to perform this operation. Although such devices have served the purpose, they have not proved entirely satisfactory under all conditions of service for the reason that considerable difiiculty has been experienced in consistently removing the web from the supply roll without causing a jamming or malfunction of the web or the machine.

One type of apparatus which is capable of automatically removing the lead end of a web from a supply roll is disclosed in a U.S. Pat. application filed by Jack W. Thomsen, Ser. No. 706,243, which was filed on Feb. 19, 1968, and was assigned to the Bell and Howell Company. In this application, a web stripping apparatus is utilized to remove the lead end of a web from the supply roll. A means is provided for rotatably driving the supply roll and this driving means along with a means for stripping the lead end from the roll form a guide path. This guide path provides a channel through which the lead end of the web material may progress to a utilization device for further handling.

A second type of prior known device also utilizes an automatic stripping means. This second automatic stripping means is movably engaged with the supply roll to strip away from the roll the lead end of the web. A drive means is provided which separately engages the supply roll and drives the roll towards the stripping means. The surface of the drive means cooperates with the surface of the stripping device to form a channel or passageway which guides the end of the web material away from the roll into a utilization device. It will be recognized that in these known prior art devices, the guide channel or passageway is formed by the stripping means as well as driving means. While such devices have served the purpose, they have not proved entirely satisfactory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general purpose of this invention is to provide an apparatus for stripping and feeding a web material from a rotatably supported roll of such material to a utilization device. To attain this, the present invention contemplates the utilization of a stripping means having a first surface engageable with the web material on the roll. The stripping means separates the leading end of the web material from the roll as the roll is being rotated. A second surface of the stripping means is adapted to direct the leading end of the web material away from the roll. A drive means is engageable with and adapted to drive the roll so that the leading end of the web material is moved towards the stripping means. A guide means is connected to the drive means, wherein the guide means and the second surface of the stripping means cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding the leading end of the web material away from the roll during the rotation of the roll and towards a utilization device.

In a preferred embodiment, the utilization device is a motion picture projection machine and the stripping and feeding apparatus may be directly mounted to the housing of the machine by any suitable fastening means. A suitable housing for the stripping and feeding apparatus is disclosed by Edward R. Prelletz et al. in application Ser. No. 8 l 7,914, filed Apr. 21, 1969, and assigned to the Bell and Howell Company. Furthermore, the stripping and feeding apparatus of the present invention may be utilized with a conventional supply roll such as that obtained directly from a film processing laboratory or with a supply roll that is enclosed by a cartridge. One type of cartridge is disclosed by Gordon B. Bradt et al. in application Ser. No. 826,045, filed Apr. 2 l 1969, and assigned to the Bell and Howell Company. The apparatus of the present invention is capable of being used with any conventional size supply roll or a cartridge having a supply roll therein. However, best results are obtained when 500 feet or less is present on the supply roll.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is the provision of an improved device for stripping web material from a supply roll and feeding it into a guide passageway.

Another object is to provide an automatic stripping apparatus which may be utilized both with a conventional supply roll or a cartridge enclosed supply roll.

A further object is the provision of a stripping and feeding apparatus which provides a guide or passageway of uniform width throughout the entire operation of the apparatus.

Still another object is to provide a means for accurately insuring that the lead end of a rotatably supported web material may be biased or fed automatically towards a stripping apparatus regardless of the size of the supply roll upon which the web material is wound.

A still further object is the provision of an automatic stripping apparatus which may be utilized in conjunction with several sizes of supply rolls without modification thereof.

A still further object is to provide an apparatus for automatically separating the lead end of the outer convolution of a motion picture film from its roll and transfer this film through a guide or passageway to a utilization device on the projector.

Yet another object is to provide a passageway or guide to be utilized in combination with an automatic stripping apparatus wherein the drive means for rotating and driving the web material does not form a surface or portion of the passageway.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical section view from the front, of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section view from the rear of the preferred embodiment of the invention in a non-operative position.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section view from the rear of the preferred embodiment of the invention in its operative position.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the gear train associated with the preferred embodiment taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the pulley drive assembly taken along the lines 55 ofFlG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a portion of the pulley drive gear assembly taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a simplified diagrammatic view of the preferred embodiment in a first or inoperative position.

FIG. 8 is a simplified diagrammatic view of the preferred embodiment in a second or intermediate position.

FIG. 9 is a simplified diagrammatic view of the preferred embodiment in a third or operative position.

FIG. I is a top sectional view along the lines -10 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a vertical view of an alternative embodiment of the invention utilizing a drive puck.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a stripping and feedout module 10. The stripping and feedout module 10 is utilized to strip a web material from a supply roll which is rotatably supported on a web handling apparatus. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the web handling apparatus is a motion picture projection machine and the web material is a motion picture film. Although the preferred em bodiment of the invention will be described with respect to a motion picture projection machine, it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the stripping and feedout module 10 may be utilized to strip any type of web material from a supply roll and to feed the web material to a utilization device.

In the preferred embodiment, the stripping and feedout module I0 is mounted on a housing 11 of a motion picture projection machine by suitable fastening means 17. As mentioned above, the stripping and feedout module 10 of the in stant invention, is readily adapted to be mounted within a hollow mounting module I6. One such mounting module is disclosed in the above identified US. Pat. application of Edward R. Prelletz et al. The mounting module I6 provides a ledge upon which a film loaded cartridge may sit. As disclosed in the Prelletz application, alignment pins 13 are provided to ensure that the cartridge is properly placed on the ledge. A cartridge such as that disclosed in the above identified US. Pat. application of Gordon E. Bradt et al. or any other similar cartridge having an aperture through which the film may pass, may then be mounted on the ledge 15 of the mounting module I6 and the stripping and feedout module 10 will be able to remove the film from the cartridge. Furthermore, a cartridge need not be utilized since the stripping and feedout module 10 operates with conventional supply rolls of film which are rotatably mounted to the projector housing. While a preferred mounting module and cartridge has been disclosed, it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that other mounting means as well as other types of cartridges may be utilized in accordance without departing from the spirit and the scope of this invention.

Again, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the stripping and feedout module 10 comprises the stripper assembly 12 which is connected to a drive assembly 14. The stripping and feedout module I0 is adapted to be movable along a slot 25 which is provided in the projector housing.

The stripper assembly 12 comprises a stripper finger 22 which is movably mounted to a stripper housing 24 by a resilient spring 26. The drive assembly 14 comprises a drive pulley 28 and a pair of idler pulleys 30 and 32. The drive pulley 28 is connected by suitable gearing means 74, 76 and 80 (as will be explained below) to the projector drive train and the drive pulley 28 in turn drives a pulley belt 34. The pulley belt 34 encircles the drive pulley 28 and the two idler pulleys 30 and 32. The drive assembly 14 further comprises a cover plate 36 which covers the front sides of the pulleys and enables them to rotate freely. A pulley plate 38 is also provided on the opposite sides of the pulleys and like the cover plate 36 enables the free rotation of the drive pulley 28 and the idler pulleys 30 and 32. The shape of cover plate 36 and pulley plate 38 causes the pulley belt 34 to be exposed when travelling from the idler pulley 30 to the idler pulley 32. After travelling past what is commonly referred to as the 12 o'clock position of idler pulley 32, it can be seen in FIG. 1 that the pulley belt 34 is then completely covered or shielded by the cover plate 36 and the pulley plate 38. An edge 37 of cover plate 36 and an edge 39 of the pulley plate 38 (FIG. 10) completely shields the pulley belt 34 and, as will be explained below, edges 37 and 39 form a guide surface over which the film or web material will pass after being stripped from the supply roll. These edges 37 and 39 prevent the pulley belt from forming any portion of the passageway or guide for the film.

Referring briefly now to FIGS. 7 through 9, the stripping and feedout module 10 is shown in three distinct positions. FIG. 7 shows the initial inoperative or starting position for the stripping and feedout module 10. A supply roll of film I8 is rotatably mounted with respect to the projector housing 11. As shown in FIG. 7, a cartridge 20 may enclose the film roll 18. As described above, the cartridge sits on the ledge 15 of the mounting module 16. A rack drive gear 40 connected through a series of gears to a lever 42 (FIG. 2) is utilized to move the stripping and feedout module 10 into its operative position. The rack drive gear 40 operably engages a rack 44 on the stripping and feedout module 10. The rack 44 is connected to the stripper housing 24 as well as to the pulley plate 38 (FIG. 5) of the drive assembly 14. It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the rack 44, the connecting member 46 and the pulley plate 38, while described as three separate entities, may be manufactured as a single unit. Thus, any movement of the rack 44 will simultaneously be transferred by the connecting member 46 to the stripper assembly 12 and the drive assembly 14. As the lever 42 is moved downwardly into its operative position (FIGS. 2 and 3), the rack drive gear 40 causes the rack 44 to move upwardly along the guide slot 25 in the projector housing 11 (FIGS. I and 2), thereby causing the stripper assembly 12 and the drive assembly 14 to also move upwardly. Eventually, as the stripper assembly 12 continues its upward movement, the stripper finger 22 will engage the film on the supply roll I8 as shown in FIG. 8. This will have the effeet of separating the outer convolution 19 of the film from the second to outer convolution as shown in this figure. It will be noted that while the stripper finger 22 is in contact with the film, the pulley belt 34 as yet has not contacted the film. This position (FIG. 8) wherein the stripper finger has contacted the film and the pulley belt has not contacted the film may be referred to as an intermediate position.

Referring now to FIG. 9, it can be seen that the rack 44 continues its upward movement until the pulley belt 34 contacts the outer convolution 19 of the film. This position of the pulley belt 34 against the outer convolution 19 of the film determines the final operating position of the stripping and feedout module 10. It will also be noted that stripper finger 22, being movably mounted within the stripper housing 24, moves downwardly with respect to the drive assembly 14 as the drive assembly I4 is continuing to move upwardly towards the film. In this final operative position, a first surface 48 of the stripper finger 22 is in contact with the next to outer convolution of film. A second surface 50 of the stripper finger 22 cooperates with the outer edges 37 and 39 of the cover plate 36 and the pulley plate 38, respectively (FIG. 10), and forms a narrow paxageway 52 therebetween to guide the leading end of the film 19 from the supply roll I8. As explained above, the pulley belt 34, when in position as shown in FIG. 9, causes the film on the supply roll 18 to rotate. The outer edge 37 of cover plate 36 has a corner portion 43 that reduces the space between stripper finger surface 50 and the point of contact of pulley belt 34 with the supply roll 18 to prevent the leading end 19 from buckling and forming a loop in the passageway 52 which would cause a failure of advancing the leading end 19 to a threading mechanism. The shape of the narrow passageway 52 formed between the stripper finger 22 and the cover plate 36 and pulley plate 38 has been designed to readily accept the lead end 19 ofthe film.

The leading end 19 of the film is normally biased towards this narrow passageway 52, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. However, at times, this leading end 19 of the film hangs vertically downward. Therefore, as the stripping and feedout module 10 moves into its operative position, as shown in FIG. 9, this downwardly hanging leading end of the film might not properly engage the pulley belt 34 at the proper drive position or, in other words. the 12 o'clock position on idler pulley 32. To rectify this situation, the pulley belt 34 is exposed as it travels from the idler pulley 30 to the idler pulley 32. If the leading edge of the film were hanging downwardly or vertically, the pulley belt 34 would engage this end of the film somewhere between the idler pulley 30 and the idler pulley 32 and thereby directing the leading end towards the drive position or 12 o'clock position of the belt and the narrow passageway 52, thereby eliminating any possible jamming or entanglement of the film. The distance between the center of the idler pulley 30 and the center of the idler pulley 32 may be determined experimentally, dependent upon the contemplated maximum and minimum sizes of supply rolls of film which are to be utilized in conjunction with the projector. The position of the idler pulley 30 is determined such that a vertically hanging outer convolution of film would come in contact with the pulley belt at this point. It will be readily recognized, however, that if the user contemplated only full supply rolls of film, wherein the leading edge of the film would then always be biased towards the narrow passageway 52, this feature would not be necessary and could be eliminated without departing from the scope of the invention.

After the film has been successfully stripped from the supply rolls by the stripping and feedout module 10, as shown in FIG. 9, the pulley belt 34, which is being driven by the drive pulley 28, causes the lead end 19 of the film to progress down the narrow passageway 52 towards a utilization channel 54 shown in FIG. 1. Once the lead end of the film is in the utilization channel 54, it may be driven by an auxiliary drive means (not shown) to a film utilization device such as an automatic threading mechanism of a movie projector. If an auxiliary drive is not present to aid the film past the utilization channel 54, the pulley belt 34 passing over the idler pulley 32 may alternatively also serve this function. schematically, the utilization channel 54 leads to a shuttle gate 60 of an automatic threading apparatus (not shown). It will be readily recognized by one skilled in the art that the present invention contemplates an apparatus for stripping a web material from a supply roll and the specific utilization of this web material after it is stripped is immaterial to the present invention.

Referring again to FIG. 9, as well as FIG. 1, after the leading end 19 of the film has passed through the utilization channel 54, the stripping procedure has been completed and the lever 42 is then returned to its position shown in FIG. 2. A negator spring 62, which is attached between the projector housing 11 and the stripper housing 24 causes the drive assembly I4 and the stripper assembly 12 to return to their non-operative posi tion as shown in FIG. 7.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the movement and operation of the stripping and feedout module will be explained in more detail. A lever 42 is provided on the projector and is utilized to initiate the operation of the stripping and feedout module. Attached to the lever 42 are a pair of engagement gears 72 and 74. Engagement gears 72 and 74 are always meshed with an input gear 76 mounted on a shaft 75. The shaft 75 and the input gear 76 form a portion of the projector rather than of the stripping and feedout module 10 and in a conventional projector are the source of drive power for rotat ing the supply roll of film. The pivot point of the lever 42 coincides with the axis of the shaft 75. A clutch input gear 78 is mounted on a common axis 41 with the rack drive gear 40. A clutch disc 79 is provided between the rack drive gear 40 and the clutch input gear 78. This is more clearly shown in FIG. 4. Briefly referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that neither the rack drive gear 40 nor the clutch input gear 78 mesh with the input gear 76, since they are located in different planes. Again referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a compound gear train 80 is provided to mesh with the engagement gear 74, thereby providing a source of power for the drive pulley 28, which drives the pulley belt 34. The compound gear train 80 comprises a series of linked gears, an output gear 82 which in turn is an operable engagement with a compound gear 84, which in turn is operably engaged to a compound gear 86. A pair of levers 88 and 90 are also shown linking the shaft of these three gears. The output gear 82 is mounted upon the shaft 29 which coincides with the shaft upon which the drive pulley 28 is mounted and any rotation of the output gear 82 causes a rotation of the drive pulley 28.

When it is desired to move the stripping and feedout module 10 from its inoperative position, as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 7, to its operative position, as is shown in FIG. 9, the lever 42 is depressed and placed in the position shown in FIG. 3. Now, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be seen that as the lever 42 is lowered, the engagement gear 72, which is always meshed with the input gear 76 (see FIG. 6), comes in contact with and meshes with the clutch input gear 78. Power is therefore supplied from the projector by the shaft 75 through the input gear 76 and then through the engagement gear 72 to the clutch input gear 78. The clutch input gear 78 then begins to drive through a slip clutch 79 (FIG. 4) and this movement is transmitted to the rack drive gear 40. As explained previously, rotation of the rack drive gear 40 causes the rack 44 to move upwardly, as shown in FIGS. 7 through 9. The stripping and feedout module 10 moves upwardly along the slot 25, provided in the projector housing 11 (FIGS. I and 2). The shape of the path provided by the slot 25 in the preferred embodiment is slightly radial to enable the stripping and feedout module 10 to accurately engage the reel of film. However, it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the shape of the slot 25 need not be radial.

As the stripping and feedout module 10 continues to rise due to the rotation of the rack drive gear 40, movement will eventually be restricted by the pulley belt 34 coming in contact with the film on the supply roll 18 as shown in FIG. 9. When this occurs, the slip clutch 79 slips thereby preventing further rotation of the rack drive gear 40. However, the drive assembly 14 and the stripper assembly 12 remain in position against the film, as shown in FIG. 9 until the engagement gear 72 is disengaged from the clutch input gear 78 by moving the lever 42 upwardly. Simultaneously with the movement of the rack 44, the engagement gear 74 meshes with the compound gear 86 which then supplies power from the input gear 76 through the engagement gears 86 and 84 to the output gear 82. The output gear 82 is mounted on the shaft 29 and movement of this shaft causes rotation of the drive pulley 28 as shown in FIGS. I and 5. So long as the lever 42 is in its operative position, shown in FIG. 3, the input gear 76 will be supply ing power to both the drive pulley 28 and the clutch input gear 78 and so long as power is being supplied to the drive pulley 28, the pulley belt 34 will rotate, thereby rotating the film supply roll 18 causing the lead end 19 of the film to be stripped by the stripper finger 22. After the lead end 19 of the film has reached the utilization device or the shuttle gate 60 (FIG. 1) the lever 42 may be moved upwardly and returned to the inoperative position shown in FIG. 2. This will then cause the stripping and feedout module 10 to return to its inoperative position shown in FIG. 7. As mentioned above, the negator spring 62, which is attached to the stripper housing 24, positively returns the stripping and feedout module 10 to its stored position along the slot 25, thereby removing the stripper finger 22 and the pulley belt 34 from engagement with the film.

By linking the stripper assembly I2 to the drive assembly 14 with the connecting member 46, so that the stripper assembly 12 and the drive assembly 14 move simultaneously, the narrow passageway 52 maintains a constant width throughout operation of the stripper and feedout module 10. This is a substantial improvement over prior stripping devices wherein the passageway of these prior devices was never of a constant width throughout the enter operation. Furthermore, the simultaneous movement of the stripper assembly 12 and the drive assembly 14 enables an accurate placement of the stripping and feedout module 10 and prevents any form of jamming or malfunction.

As mentioned above, the stripper finger 22 is movably mounted in the stripper housing 24 by a resilient spring 26. This enables two degrees of motion to be present in the stripper assembly 12; first, the entire stripper assembly 12 is movable with respect to the projector housing 11, and, secondly, the stripper finger 22 is movable with respect to the stripper housing 24. As the rack drive gear 40 moves the entire stripping and feedout module 10 along the slot 25 in the projector housing, the stripper finger 22 as well as the drive assembly 14 moves upwardly. When the upward movement of the stripper finger 22 is stopped by the film (FIG. 8), the drive assembly continues moving upwardly with respect to the projector housing, thereby causing the stripper finger 22 to move downwardly with respect to the position of the drive assembly 14 and to begin to compress the spring 26. Finally, the motion of the drive assembly 14 is stopped when the pulley belt 34 comes in contact with the film (FIG. 9). At this point, the stripper finger 22 is biased between the outer convolution 19 of film and the next outer convolution of film while the pulley belt 34 is biased against outer convolution 19 of the film.

The drive pulley 28 causes a rotation of the pulley belt 34 thereby causing the film to be fed into the narrow passageway 52 formed by the edges 37 and 39 of the cover plate 36 and the pulley plate 38 as well as the inner surface 50 of the stripper finger 22. As mentioned above, the length of the pulley belt 34 between the idler pulley 30 and the idler pulley 32 aids in moving the lead end of the film 19 towards the narrow passageway 52 if it is not already biased in that direction.

By utilizing the edges 37 and 39 of the cover plate 36 and the pulley plate 38, respectively. as one side of the narrow passageway 52, once the lead end of the film 19 is passed down the passageway 52, there are no moving parts to cause any malfunction or jamming of the mechanism. The pulley belt 34 is used only to transport the film to the narrow passageway 52 and is not used in any way to form a portion of the narrow passageway 52. Lastly, the shape of the cover plate 36 and the pulley plate 38 as well as that of the stripper finger 22 are such that the cover plate 36 and the pulley plate 38 protrude beyond the periphery of the idler pulley 32, thereby shielding or covering the pulley belt 34 and this shape follows the shape of the inner surface 50 of the stripper finger 22, thereby forming a short gap whereby the film can only proceed downwardly. Thus, it is impossible to crease or jam the film at the top of this gap and by having simultaneous movement of both the stripper assembly 12 and the drive as sembly 14, the width of the narrow passageway 52 will remain constant.

The shape of the drive assembly and the stripper assembly are such that various diameters of film on various centers may be utilized and any amount of film upwards of 500 feet may be utilized in conjunction with stripping and feedout module 10.

Referring now to FIG. 11, there is shown an alternative embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 discloses an alternative drive assembly ll4. The drive assembly 114 is similar to the drive assembly 14, except that the two idler pulleys 30 and 32 and the drive pulley 28 have been replaced by a single drive puck 134. Drive puck 134 may be connected directly to the shaft 29 of the output gear 82. As the output gear 82 turns drive puck 134 is utilized to move the film towards the narrow passageway formed by the edges 37 and 39 of the cover plate 36 and pulley plate 38, respectively, in a manner similar to that described before. In this manner, a drive puck may replace the function of the pulley belt 34.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been described with respect to a motion picture projection machine, it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the stripping and feedout module 10 may be utilized to strip any type of web material from a rotatably supported supply roll and it should be further understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to a preferred embodiment of the invention and that numerous modifications or alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising:

stripping means having a first surface engageable with said strip material on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said leading edge of said strip material from said roll and having a second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said strip material away from said roll;

drive means engageable with and adapted to drive said roll so that said leading end of said material is moved toward said stripping means; and

guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means presenting a stationary surface with respect to said strip material during said stripping and feeding, wherein said guide means and said second surface of said stripping means cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for connecting said stripping means to said guide means wherein movement of said guide means causes movement of said stripping means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said drive means com prises:

a drive pulley;

an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley; and

a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys.

4. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising:

stripping means having a first surface engageable with said strip material on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said leading end of said strip material from said roll and having a second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said strip material away from said roll;

drive means engageable with and adapted to drive said roll so that said leading end of said material is moved toward said stripping means, said drive means including a drive pulley, an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley, and a belt extending around and supported by said pulley; and

guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means including a polygonal cover means operably connected to said pulleys wherein a first edge of said cover means is adapted to cooperate with said stripping means to form a narrow passageway therebetween to guide said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means, and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said material in said passageway.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said polygonal cover means further comprises:

a second edge adapted to expose a segment of said belt wherein said exposed segment of said belt is adapted to drive said roll to said stripping means.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said cover means comprises:

a first substantially planar plate operably connected to a first side of each of said pulleys; and

a second substantially planar plate operably connected to a second side of each of said pulleys, said first and second plates cooperating to form said passageway and to enable the rotation of said pulleys and said belt.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein each of said first and second plates comprise:

a first edge cooperable with said stripping means to form said narrow passageway and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said material in said passageway;

a second edge adapted to expose a first segment of said belt wherein said first segment of said belt is adapted to guide said leading end of said material towards said drive pulley; and

an arcuate edge formed between said first and second edges and adapted to expose a second segment of said belt passing over said drive pulley wherein said second segment of said belt is adapted to drive said roll to said stripping means and to said narrow passageway.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said cover means is connected to said stripping means and wherein movement of said drive means to engage said roll causes said stripping means to engage said strip material.

9. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said drive means comprises a rotatable puck means.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said guide means comprises:

a polygonal cover means operably connected to said puck means wherein a first edge of said cover means is adapted to cooperate with said stripping means to form said narrow passageway and to prevent said puck from contacting said leading edge of said material in said passageway.

11. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising:

a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said material and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said material;

stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts and leading end of said strip material from said roll and provides a guide surface for said leading end of said strip material; and

guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position presents a stationary surface with respect to said strip material and cooperates with said guide surface of said stripping means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said operative position of said stripping means is determined by said operative position of said drive means.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said operative position of said guide means is determined by said operative position of said drive means.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said guide means is connected to said drive means and wherein movement of said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position is transferred to said guide means.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising means for transferring movement of said guide means to said stripping means wherein movement of said guide means into said operative position causes said stripping means to move to said operative position.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

a housing substantially enclosing said roll of strip material, said housing having an aperture adapted to receive said stripping means and said drive means when in engagement with said roll.

l7v An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising;

a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position. said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said material and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said material;

stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said strip material from said roll and provides a guide surface for said leading end of said strip material;

guide means connected to said drive means wherein movement of said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position is transferred to said guide means thereby causing said guide means to be movable from an inoperative position to an operative position; and

means for transferring movement of said guide means to said stripping means wherein movement of said guide means into said operative position causes said stripping means to move to said operative position and wherein movement of said stripping means and said movement of said guide means from said inoperative positions to said operative positions forms a narrow passageway of constant width throughout said movements and wherein said narrow passageway guides said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said stripping means is mounted for movement relative to said guide means.

19. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising:

a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said material and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said material;

stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said strip material from said roll and provides a guide surface for said leading end of said strip material; and

guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position cooperates with said guide surface of said stripping means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means and wherein said movement of said stripping means and said movement of said guide means from said inoperative positions to said operative positions is adapted to cause said width of said narrow passageway to remain constant throughout said movements.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising:

a housing substantially enclosing said roll of strip material, said housing having an aperture adapted to receive said stripping means and said drive means when in engagement with said roll.

21. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising:

drive means operable between an operative position and an inoperative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said material and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said materiguide means operable between an operative and an inoperative position wherein said guide means provides a first guide surface for said leading end of said strip material when said guide means is in said operative position;

stripping means operable between an operative position, an intermediate position and an inoperative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said strip material from said roll and cooperates with said guide means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll; and

control means adapted to move said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position wherein said stripping means first moves to said intermediate position contacting said material on said roll and wherein said drive means then contacts said outer convolution of said material thereby driving said roll of material and causing said stripping means and said guide means to simultaneously move into said operative positions thereby feeding said leading end of said material into said narrow pasageway.

22v The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said stripping means comprises:

a stripping housing connected to said guide means wherein movement of said guide means is transmitted to said stripping housing; and

a stripping finger resiliently mounted in said stripping housing wherein during said operative position of said stripping means said stripping finger is compressed between said material on said roll and said stripping housing and wherein during said intermediate position said stripping finger abuts said material on said roll and is fully extended with respect to said stripping housing.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein movement of said stripping housing, said stripping finger, and said guide means to said operative positions results in said stripping finger lifting said leading end of said strip material from said roll and cooperating with said guide means to form said narrow passageway having a constant width.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said operative posi tion of said resiliently mounted stripping finger is determined by said operative position of said drive means.

25. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising:

a stripping finger having a first surface engageable with said strip material on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said strip material from said roll and a segmen tally concave second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said strip material away from said roll;

drive means adapted to drive said roll toward said stripping finger; and

guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means presenting a stationary surface with respect to said strip material during said stripping and feeding, wherein said guide means and said second surface of said stripping finger cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll without jamming.

26. An apparatus for feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end to a stripping mechanism comprising:

a drive pulley;

an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley;

a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys; and

a cover means operably connected to said pulleys and substantially covering said belt wherein said cover means is adapted to expose a first segment of said belt to enable said belt to drive said roll of material towards said stripping mechanism and to expose a second segment of said belt to enable said belt to convey said leading end of said material towards said first segment of said belt thereby preventing jamming and ensuring that said leading end of said material is biased towards said stripping mechanism.

27. in a web handling machine adapted to have a supply roll of web material rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a web path, the improvement comprising:

drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction;

stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said web material from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said web away from said roll and along said web path when said stripping means engages said roll; and

means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein said drive means and said stripping means form said web path and wherein the width of said web path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means.

28. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll having a leading end, comprising:

stripping means having a first surface engageable with said film on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said leading end of said film from said roll and having a second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said film away from said roll;

drive means engageable with and adapted to drive said roll so that said leading end of said film is moved toward said stripping means; and

guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means presenting a stationary surface with respect to said strip material during said stripping and feeding, wherein said guide means and said second surface of said stripping means cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said drive means comprises:

a drive pulley;

an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley; and

a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys.

30. in combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll having a leading end, comprising:

stripping means having a first surface engageable with said film on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said leading end of said film from said roll and having a second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said film away from said roll;

drive means engageable with and adapted to drive said roll so that said leading end of said film is moved toward said stripping means, said drive means including a drive pulley, an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley, and a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys; and

guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means including a polygonal cover means operably connected to said pulleys wherein a first edge of said cover means is adapted to cooperate with said stripping means to form a narrow passageway therebetween to guide said leading end of said film away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said film in said passageway.

31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein said cover means comprises:

a first substantially planar plate operably connected to a first side of each of said pulleys; and

a second substantially planar plate operably connected to a second side of each of said pulleys, said first and second plates cooperating to form said passageway and to enable the rotation of said pulleys and said belt.

32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein each of said first and second plates comprise:

a first edge cooperable with said stripping means to form said narrow passageway and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said film in said passageway;

a second edge adapted to expose a first segment of said belt wherein said first segment of said belt is adapted to guide said leading end of said film towards said drive pulley; and

an arcuate edge formed between said first and second edges and adapted to expose a second segment of said belt passing over said drive pulley wherein said second segment of said belt is adapted to drive said roll to said stripping means and to said narrow passageway.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein said cover means is connected to said stripping means and wherein movement of said drive means to engage said roll causes said stripping means to engage said film.

34. The apparatus of claim 33 further comprising:

a housing substantially enclosing said roll of film, said housing having an aperture adapted to receive said stripping means and said drive means when in engagement with said roll.

35. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll having a leading end, comprising:

a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said film and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said film;

stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said film from said roll and provides a first guide surface for said leading end of said film; and

guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position presents a stationary surface with respect to said strip material and cooperates with said first guide surface of said stripping means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.

36. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll having a leading end, comprising:

a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said film and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said film;

stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said film from said roll and provides a first guide surface for said leading end ofsaid film; and

guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position cooperates with said first guide surface of said stripping means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means, wherein said movement of said stripping means and said movement of said guide means from said inoperative positions to said operative positions is adapted to cause said width of said narrow passageway to remain constant throughout said movements and wherein said guide means is connected to said drive means whereby movement of said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position is transferred to said guide means.

37. The apparatus of claim 36 further comprising means for transferring movement of said guide means to said stripping means wherein movement of said guide means into said operative position causes said stripping means to move to said operative position.

38. The apparatus of claim 37 further comprising:

a housing substantially enclosing said roll of film, said housing having an aperture adapted to receive said stripping means and said drive means when in engagement with said roll.

39. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll of film having a leading end, comprising:

drive means operable between an operative position and an inoperative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said film and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said film;

guide means operable between an operative and an inoperative position wherein said guide means provides a first guide surface for said leading end of said film when said guide means is in said operative position;

stripping means operable between an operative position, an intermediate position and an inoperative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said film from said roll and cooperates with said guide means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll; and

control means adapted to move said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position wherein said stripping means first moves to said intermediate position contacting said film on said roll and wherein said drive means then contacts said outer convolution of said film, thereby driving said roll of film and causing said stripping means and said guide means to simultaneously move into said operative positions thereby feeding said leading end of said film into said narrow passageway.

40. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein said stripping means comprises:

a stripping housing connected to said guide means wherein movement of said guide means is transmitted to said stripper housing; and

a stripping finger resiliently mounted in said stripping housing wherein during said operative position of said stripping means said stripping finger is compressed between said film on said roll and said stripping housing and wherein during said intermediate position said stripping finger abuts said film on said roll and is fully extended with respect to said stripping housing.

41. The apparatus of claim 40 wherein movement of said stripping housing, said stripping finger, and said guide means to said operative positions results in said stripping finger lifting said leading end of said film from said roll and cooperating with said guide means to form said narrow passageway having a constant width and wherein said operative position of said resiliently mounted stripping finger is determined by said operative position of said drive means.

42. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll of film having a leading end, comprismg:

a stripping finger having a first surface engageable with said film on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said film from said roll and a segmentally concave second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said film away from said roll;

drive means adapted to drive said roll toward said stripping finger; and

guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means presenting a stationary surface with respect to said strip material during said stripping and feeding, wherein said guide means and said second surface of said stripping finger cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll without jamming.

43. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for feeding film from a rotatably supported roll of film having a leading end to a stripping mechanism comprising:

adrive pulley;

an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley;

a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys;

a cover means operably connected to said pulleys and substantially covering said belt wherein said cover means is adapted to expose a first segment of said belt to enable said belt to drive said roll of film towards said stripping mechanism and to expose a second segment of said belt to enable said belt to convey said leading end of said film towards said first segment of said belt thereby preventing jamming and ensuring that said leading end of said film is biased towards said stripping mechanism.

a supply roll of film rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a film path, the improvement comprising:

drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction;

stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said film from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said film away from said roll and along said film path when said stripping means engages said roll; and

means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein said drive means and said stripping means form said web path and wherein the width of said film path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means.

45. In a motion picture projector for projecting a roll of film which has a leading end and which is adapted to be supported on a rotatable film reel positioned within a housing having an aperture therein, the combination comprising:

stripping means movable from an inoperative position, to an intermediate position, and to an operative position, having a stripping housing and a stripping finger resiliently mounted in said stripping housing, said stripping finger having a first surface engageable with said film during said operative position to separate said leading end of said film from said roll and having a second segrnentally concave surface adapted to direct said leading end of said film away from said roll, and wherein during said operative position of said stripping means said stripping finger is inserted into said aperture in said housing and is compressed between said film on said roll and said stripping housing and wherein during said intermediate position said stripping finger is inserted into said aperture in said housing and abuts said film on said roll and is fully extended with respect to said stripping housing;

a drive means, movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, comprising a drive pulley, an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley, and a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys, wherein said drive pulley when in said operative position causes a first segment of said belt to engage the outer convolution of said film through said aperture in said housing, said first segment of said belt being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said film;

a substantially planar plate operably connected on each side of said pulleys and forming a guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position cooperates with said second surface of said stripping finger to form a narrow film passageway for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll wherein each of said plates comprises a first edge cooperable with said second surface of said stripping finger to form said narrow film passageway and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said film in said passageway, a second edge adapted to expose a second segment of said belt wherein said second segment of said belt is adapted to guide said leading end of said film towards said drive pulley, and an arcuate edge formed between said first and second edges and adapted to expose said first segment of said belt passing over said drive pulley wherein said first segment of said belt is adapted to drive said roll to said stripping means and to said narrow film passageway;

means connecting said stripping housing to said guide means wherein movement of said drive means from said inoperative to said operative position is transferred to said stripping housing and said stripping finger; and control means adapted to move said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position wherein said stripping means first moves to said intennediate position contacting said film on said roll, and wherein said first segment of said belt then contacts said outer convolution of said film, thereby driving said roll of film and causing said stripping means and said guide means to simultaneously move into said operative positions forming said narrow film passageway having a constant width thereby feeding said leading end of said film into said narrow film passageway without jamming.

46. In a web handling machine adapted to have a supply roll of web material rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a web path, the improvement comprising:

drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction;

stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said web material from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said web away from said roll and along said web path when said stripping means engages said roll and wherein said stripping means is further adapted for additional movement relative to said drive means; and

means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein the width of said web path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means.

47. In a web handling machine adapted to have a supply roll of web material rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a web path, the improvement comprising:

drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction;

stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said web material from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said web away from said roll and along said web path when said stripping means engages said roll;

guide means connected to said drive means wherein said guide means and said stripping means define said web path; and

means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein the width of said web path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means.

48. In a motion picture projection machine adapted to have a supply roll of film rotatably supported thereon and having 50 means defining a film path, the improvement comprising:

drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction; stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said film from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said film away from said roll and along said film path when said stripping means engages said roll;

guide means connected to said drive means wherein said guide means and said stripping means define said film path; and

means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein the width of said film path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means. 

1. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising: stripping means having a first surface engageable with said strip material on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said leading edge of said strip material from said roll and having a second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said strip material away from said roll; drive means engageable with and adapted to drive said roll so that said leading end of said material is moved toward said stripping means; and guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means presenting a stationary surface with respect to said striP material during said stripping and feeding, wherein said guide means and said second surface of said stripping means cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for connecting said stripping means to said guide means wherein movement of said guide means causes movement of said stripping means.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said drive means comprises: a drive pulley; an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley; and a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys.
 4. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising: stripping means having a first surface engageable with said strip material on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said leading end of said strip material from said roll and having a second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said strip material away from said roll; drive means engageable with and adapted to drive said roll so that said leading end of said material is moved toward said stripping means, said drive means including a drive pulley, an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley, and a belt extending around and supported by said pulley; and guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means including a polygonal cover means operably connected to said pulleys wherein a first edge of said cover means is adapted to cooperate with said stripping means to form a narrow passageway therebetween to guide said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means, and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said material in said passageway.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said polygonal cover means further comprises: a second edge adapted to expose a segment of said belt wherein said exposed segment of said belt is adapted to drive said roll to said stripping means.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said cover means comprises: a first substantially planar plate operably connected to a first side of each of said pulleys; and a second substantially planar plate operably connected to a second side of each of said pulleys, said first and second plates cooperating to form said passageway and to enable the rotation of said pulleys and said belt.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein each of said first and second plates comprise: a first edge cooperable with said stripping means to form said narrow passageway and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said material in said passageway; a second edge adapted to expose a first segment of said belt wherein said first segment of said belt is adapted to guide said leading end of said material towards said drive pulley; and an arcuate edge formed between said first and second edges and adapted to expose a second segment of said belt passing over said drive pulley wherein said second segment of said belt is adapted to drive said roll to said stripping means and to said narrow passageway.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said cover means is connected to said stripping means and wherein movement of said drive means to engage said roll causes said stripping means to engage said strip material.
 9. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said drive means comprises a rotatable puck means.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said guide means comprises: a polygonal cover means operably connected to said puck means wherein a first edge of said cover means is adapted to cooperate with said stripping means to form said narrow passageway and to prevent said puck from contacting said leading edge of said material in said passageway.
 11. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such matErial having a leading end, comprising: a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said material and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said material; stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts and leading end of said strip material from said roll and provides a guide surface for said leading end of said strip material; and guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position presents a stationary surface with respect to said strip material and cooperates with said guide surface of said stripping means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said operative position of said stripping means is determined by said operative position of said drive means.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said operative position of said guide means is determined by said operative position of said drive means.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said guide means is connected to said drive means and wherein movement of said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position is transferred to said guide means.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising means for transferring movement of said guide means to said stripping means wherein movement of said guide means into said operative position causes said stripping means to move to said operative position.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising: a housing substantially enclosing said roll of strip material, said housing having an aperture adapted to receive said stripping means and said drive means when in engagement with said roll.
 17. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising: a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said material and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said material; stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said strip material from said roll and provides a guide surface for said leading end of said strip material; guide means connected to said drive means wherein movement of said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position is transferred to said guide means thereby causing said guide means to be movable from an inoperative position to an operative position; and means for transferring movement of said guide means to said stripping means wherein movement of said guide means into said operative position causes said stripping means to move to said operative position and wherein movement of said stripping means and said movement of said guide means from said inoperative positions to said operative positions forms a narrow passageway of constant width throughout said movements and wherein said narrow passageway guides said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said stripping means is mounted for movement relative to said guide means.
 19. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising: a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position beiNg engageable with the outer convolution of said material and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said material; stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said strip material from said roll and provides a guide surface for said leading end of said strip material; and guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position cooperates with said guide surface of said stripping means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means and wherein said movement of said stripping means and said movement of said guide means from said inoperative positions to said operative positions is adapted to cause said width of said narrow passageway to remain constant throughout said movements.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising: a housing substantially enclosing said roll of strip material, said housing having an aperture adapted to receive said stripping means and said drive means when in engagement with said roll.
 21. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising: drive means operable between an operative position and an inoperative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said material and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said material; guide means operable between an operative and an inoperative position wherein said guide means provides a first guide surface for said leading end of said strip material when said guide means is in said operative position; stripping means operable between an operative position, an intermediate position and an inoperative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said strip material from said roll and cooperates with said guide means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll; and control means adapted to move said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position wherein said stripping means first moves to said intermediate position contacting said material on said roll and wherein said drive means then contacts said outer convolution of said material thereby driving said roll of material and causing said stripping means and said guide means to simultaneously move into said operative positions thereby feeding said leading end of said material into said narrow passageway.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said stripping means comprises: a stripping housing connected to said guide means wherein movement of said guide means is transmitted to said stripping housing; and a stripping finger resiliently mounted in said stripping housing wherein during said operative position of said stripping means said stripping finger is compressed between said material on said roll and said stripping housing and wherein during said intermediate position said stripping finger abuts said material on said roll and is fully extended with respect to said stripping housing.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein movement of said stripping housing, said stripping finger, and said guide means to said operative positions results in said stripping finger lifting said leading end of said strip material from said roll and cooperating with said guide means to form said narrow passageway having a constant width.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said operative position of said resiliently mounted stripping finger is determined by said operative position of said drive means.
 25. An apparatus for stripping and feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end, comprising: a stripping finger having a first surface engageable with said strip material on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said strip material from said roll and a segmentally concave second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said strip material away from said roll; drive means adapted to drive said roll toward said stripping finger; and guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means presenting a stationary surface with respect to said strip material during said stripping and feeding, wherein said guide means and said second surface of said stripping finger cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding said leading end of said strip material away from said roll without jamming.
 26. An apparatus for feeding a strip material from a rotatably supported roll of such material having a leading end to a stripping mechanism comprising: a drive pulley; an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley; a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys; and a cover means operably connected to said pulleys and substantially covering said belt wherein said cover means is adapted to expose a first segment of said belt to enable said belt to drive said roll of material towards said stripping mechanism and to expose a second segment of said belt to enable said belt to convey said leading end of said material towards said first segment of said belt thereby preventing jamming and ensuring that said leading end of said material is biased towards said stripping mechanism.
 27. In a web handling machine adapted to have a supply roll of web material rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a web path, the improvement comprising: drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction; stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said web material from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said web away from said roll and along said web path when said stripping means engages said roll; and means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein said drive means and said stripping means form said web path and wherein the width of said web path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means.
 28. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll having a leading end, comprising: stripping means having a first surface engageable with said film on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said leading end of said film from said roll and having a second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said film away from said roll; drive means engageable with and adapted to drive said roll so that said leading end of said film is moved toward said stripping means; and guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means presenting a stationary surface with respect to said strip material during said stripping and feeding, wherein said guide means and said second surface of said stripping means cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said drive means comprises: a drive pulley; an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley; and a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys.
 30. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll having a leading end, comprising: stripping means having a first surface engageable with said film on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said leading end of said film from said roll and having a second surfAce adapted to direct said leading end of said film away from said roll; drive means engageable with and adapted to drive said roll so that said leading end of said film is moved toward said stripping means, said drive means including a drive pulley, an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley, and a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys; and guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means including a polygonal cover means operably connected to said pulleys wherein a first edge of said cover means is adapted to cooperate with said stripping means to form a narrow passageway therebetween to guide said leading end of said film away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said film in said passageway.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein said cover means comprises: a first substantially planar plate operably connected to a first side of each of said pulleys; and a second substantially planar plate operably connected to a second side of each of said pulleys, said first and second plates cooperating to form said passageway and to enable the rotation of said pulleys and said belt.
 32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein each of said first and second plates comprise: a first edge cooperable with said stripping means to form said narrow passageway and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said film in said passageway; a second edge adapted to expose a first segment of said belt wherein said first segment of said belt is adapted to guide said leading end of said film towards said drive pulley; and an arcuate edge formed between said first and second edges and adapted to expose a second segment of said belt passing over said drive pulley wherein said second segment of said belt is adapted to drive said roll to said stripping means and to said narrow passageway.
 33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein said cover means is connected to said stripping means and wherein movement of said drive means to engage said roll causes said stripping means to engage said film.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33 further comprising: a housing substantially enclosing said roll of film, said housing having an aperture adapted to receive said stripping means and said drive means when in engagement with said roll.
 35. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll having a leading end, comprising: a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said film and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said film; stripping means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said film from said roll and provides a first guide surface for said leading end of said film; and guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position presents a stationary surface with respect to said strip material and cooperates with said first guide surface of said stripping means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means.
 36. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll having a leading end, comprising: a drive means movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said film and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said film; stripping means movable from an inoPerative position to an operative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said film from said roll and provides a first guide surface for said leading end of said film; and guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position cooperates with said first guide surface of said stripping means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll during rotation of said roll by said drive means, wherein said movement of said stripping means and said movement of said guide means from said inoperative positions to said operative positions is adapted to cause said width of said narrow passageway to remain constant throughout said movements and wherein said guide means is connected to said drive means whereby movement of said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position is transferred to said guide means.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36 further comprising means for transferring movement of said guide means to said stripping means wherein movement of said guide means into said operative position causes said stripping means to move to said operative position.
 38. The apparatus of claim 37 further comprising: a housing substantially enclosing said roll of film, said housing having an aperture adapted to receive said stripping means and said drive means when in engagement with said roll.
 39. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll of film having a leading end, comprising: drive means operable between an operative position and an inoperative position, said drive means when in said operative position being engageable with the outer convolution of said film and being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said film; guide means operable between an operative and an inoperative position wherein said guide means provides a first guide surface for said leading end of said film when said guide means is in said operative position; stripping means operable between an operative position, an intermediate position and an inoperative position wherein during said operative position said stripping means lifts said leading end of said film from said roll and cooperates with said guide means to form a narrow passageway for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll; and control means adapted to move said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position wherein said stripping means first moves to said intermediate position contacting said film on said roll and wherein said drive means then contacts said outer convolution of said film, thereby driving said roll of film and causing said stripping means and said guide means to simultaneously move into said operative positions thereby feeding said leading end of said film into said narrow passageway.
 40. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein said stripping means comprises: a stripping housing connected to said guide means wherein movement of said guide means is transmitted to said stripper housing; and a stripping finger resiliently mounted in said stripping housing wherein during said operative position of said stripping means said stripping finger is compressed between said film on said roll and said stripping housing and wherein during said intermediate position said stripping finger abuts said film on said roll and is fully extended with respect to said stripping housing.
 41. The apparatus of claim 40 wherein movement of said stripping housing, said stripping finger, and said guide means to said operative positions results in said stripping finger lifting said leading end of said film from said roll and cooperating with said guide means to form said narrow passageway having a constant width and wherein said operative position of said resiliently mounTed stripping finger is determined by said operative position of said drive means.
 42. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for stripping and feeding film from a rotatably supported roll of film having a leading end, comprising: a stripping finger having a first surface engageable with said film on the roll during rotation thereof to separate said film from said roll and a segmentally concave second surface adapted to direct said leading end of said film away from said roll; drive means adapted to drive said roll toward said stripping finger; and guide means connected to said drive means, said guide means presenting a stationary surface with respect to said strip material during said stripping and feeding, wherein said guide means and said second surface of said stripping finger cooperate to form a narrow passageway therebetween for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll without jamming.
 43. In combination with a motion picture projection machine, an apparatus for feeding film from a rotatably supported roll of film having a leading end to a stripping mechanism comprising: a drive pulley; an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley; a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys; a cover means operably connected to said pulleys and substantially covering said belt wherein said cover means is adapted to expose a first segment of said belt to enable said belt to drive said roll of film towards said stripping mechanism and to expose a second segment of said belt to enable said belt to convey said leading end of said film towards said first segment of said belt thereby preventing jamming and ensuring that said leading end of said film is biased towards said stripping mechanism.
 44. In a motion picture projection machine adapted to have a supply roll of film rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a film path, the improvement comprising: drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction; stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said film from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said film away from said roll and along said film path when said stripping means engages said roll; and means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein said drive means and said stripping means form said web path and wherein the width of said film path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means.
 45. In a motion picture projector for projecting a roll of film which has a leading end and which is adapted to be supported on a rotatable film reel positioned within a housing having an aperture therein, the combination comprising: stripping means movable from an inoperative position, to an intermediate position, and to an operative position, having a stripping housing and a stripping finger resiliently mounted in said stripping housing, said stripping finger having a first surface engageable with said film during said operative position to separate said leading end of said film from said roll and having a second segmentally concave surface adapted to direct said leading end of said film away from said roll, and wherein during said operative position of said stripping means said stripping finger is inserted into said aperture in said housing and is compressed between said film on said roll and said stripping housing and wherein during said intermediate position said stripping finger is inserted into said aperture in said housing and abuts said film on said roll and is fully extended with respect to said stripping housing; a drive means, movable between an inoperative position and an operative position, comprising a drive pulley, an idler pulley spaced from said drive pulley, and a belt extending around and supported by said pulleys, wherein said drivE pulley when in said operative position causes a first segment of said belt to engage the outer convolution of said film through said aperture in said housing, said first segment of said belt being adapted to drive said roll so that said roll rotates in a direction to unwind said film; a substantially planar plate operably connected on each side of said pulleys and forming a guide means movable from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein said guide means in said operative position cooperates with said second surface of said stripping finger to form a narrow film passageway for guiding said leading end of said film away from said roll wherein each of said plates comprises a first edge cooperable with said second surface of said stripping finger to form said narrow film passageway and to prevent said belt from contacting said leading end of said film in said passageway, a second edge adapted to expose a second segment of said belt wherein said second segment of said belt is adapted to guide said leading end of said film towards said drive pulley, and an arcuate edge formed between said first and second edges and adapted to expose said first segment of said belt passing over said drive pulley wherein said first segment of said belt is adapted to drive said roll to said stripping means and to said narrow film passageway; means connecting said stripping housing to said guide means wherein movement of said drive means from said inoperative to said operative position is transferred to said stripping housing and said stripping finger; and control means adapted to move said drive means from said inoperative position to said operative position wherein said stripping means first moves to said intermediate position contacting said film on said roll, and wherein said first segment of said belt then contacts said outer convolution of said film, thereby driving said roll of film and causing said stripping means and said guide means to simultaneously move into said operative positions forming said narrow film passageway having a constant width thereby feeding said leading end of said film into said narrow film passageway without jamming.
 46. In a web handling machine adapted to have a supply roll of web material rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a web path, the improvement comprising: drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction; stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said web material from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said web away from said roll and along said web path when said stripping means engages said roll and wherein said stripping means is further adapted for additional movement relative to said drive means; and means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein the width of said web path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means.
 47. In a web handling machine adapted to have a supply roll of web material rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a web path, the improvement comprising: drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction; stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said web material from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said web away from said roll and along said web path when said stripping means engages said roll; guide means connected to said drive means wherein said guide means and said stripping means define said web path; and means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein the width of said web path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means.
 48. In a motion picture projection machine adapted to have a sUpply roll of film rotatably supported thereon and having means defining a film path, the improvement comprising: drive means for rotating said roll in an unwinding direction; stripping means for engaging said supply roll and stripping the lead end of said film from said roll, said stripping means having a guide surface adapted to guide said leading end of said film away from said roll and along said film path when said stripping means engages said roll; guide means connected to said drive means wherein said guide means and said stripping means define said film path; and means for simultaneously moving said drive means and said stripping means into engagement with said supply roll wherein the width of said film path remains constant throughout said moving of said drive means and said stripping means. 